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Jenny Uechi

When spring approaches next year, many foreigners in Japan could be in for a rude awakening: From April 1, all those who apply to extend their visa in Japan will be asked to show proof of enrollment in one or other of Japan’s main ...

In your wallet or somewhere at home, do you have a blue or pink card showing that you are enrolled in one of Japan’s national health and pension programs? If not, and if you are thinking of extending your stay here, you may want ...

Citizenship can mean the difference between “belonging” and being just a visitor. Some people endure years of waiting in line and filing applications in a bid to change citizenship; others, by virtue of their birthplace and familial ties, begin their lives with the opportunity ...

With a falling population, a shrinking tax base and a shortage of carers for its increasing number of elderly, calls are growing for Japan to allow in a large influx of foreign workers to plug the gap. The question is: When they come, will ...

You’ve probably heard of blunders by Japanese businessmen in English, such as translating “hitotsu yoroshiku” as “one, please” instead of “I look forward to working with you.” Less known, but no less common, are the slip-ups foreigners make in Japanese, especially when using that ...

‘The clicking sound of my cell phone echoes emptily in my room. . . . If only I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t have to live so miserably.’ The thousands of messages posted online by Tomohiro Kato reveal the loneliness that haunted him in ...

T. Mutoh Dentist, 49 I think it’s easy; there’s not much prejudice here. When you consider some places, where people of certain backgrounds won’t even eat dinner together, Japan is almost like heaven, right? Swantje Wuebbenhorst Student, 23 (German) I think it depends where ...

Japan’s collective image of homelessness is a fairly bleak one: Men in unwashed clothing, faces devoid of expression, hauling armfuls of flattened cardboard that will be their resting place for the night; rows of depressingly permanent-looking blue tarp huts in parks and beneath bridges, ...

Kevin Chiu, 28 Security officer (H.K.)I think that going on strike is a civil right. I would strike if there was some disagreement over the government’s policies, or over some international affair, or possibly over low wages. Shigoro Takashima Retired, 69I remember it used ...

Odette Oldewolbers Architect, 32 (Dutch) I’m going to Hiroshima to see the war museum, and also to Miyajima. I know it’s going to be very busy in Golden Week, so I’d like to get away from the hustle-bustle of the city. Keiko Koizumi Part-time ...